I know what you mean. Been messaging Brendon, not overly confident with the Nostalgia's, lost faith in the weather. Half expecting it to be cancelled again due to the weather. Leaving no real racing this year.
Ha It is just one of the spare rooms in our second warehouse where the toys that are seldom used go to hibernate.
Hopefully we get some racing in this year. It’s been horrible to try and plan anything with this weather. I joked that I should have restored an old clinker to put this engine in but I guarantee if I do that we would be in drought… fingers crossed for some good weather!
Looks like the Test 'n' tune at Wilby motorsport park in Victoria is still on this Saturday so I'll wander down to that and see what happens. Should be a 'short' 3 hour drive. There's no competition involved but any excuse for a fang.
Wilby looks like a fun little track. Willowbank issued a statement today saying that as of the 10th they are shutting the track down for upgrades. This mean no nostalgias this year. Speaking to Brian I think our best hope of getting some runs is going to be to start travelling to some of these other country tracks.
You'd think they would've waited till after the Nostalgias to shut it down. It just goes to show the contempt they have for everyone but the big boys. Wilby was a non event for me. The weather was looking iffy and the club running the event wasn't really switched on to what to do. I only found out on the Thursday night that I Needed to apply for a race licence with AASA or CAMS @ $35. Stayed home and watched the rain come down instead.
Well Willowbank strikes again. Not happy about it all about the cancellation. No real racing this year at all. I have got so bored that I bought polish and am now spending my time making it shine. Those who know me, knows how much I dislike polishing and cleaning. Yes, need to do some road miles. Chase the tracks. Would love to start a small Independant series for us all to race. Trophy and all that goes with it. Something that could slip into a street meet. If we could get enough of us, to be able to contact the track first to see if they could accommodate us. Just a thought.
hopefully, we will be down. Not going to let it go, Will organize a chat with Brendan, Steve and Jeff in the new year, Want to have something organized before Sydney.
Got bored as there has been no racing since Willowbank my local strip cancelled the Nostalgia event. Only event last year. Want to put some louvers in the Austin gasser that we are starting to build this year. Decided to make a Louver punch. Pretty happy with the results. Think I will louver the sump on the Hambster for better cooling. Ha! Actually plan to make a baffled sump for it and want to run internal louvers to help separate the oil from the crank.. With the shape of the sump, when launching, all the oil splashes to the rear of the motor. Well Test n tune on the 14th, next weekend. Brendon (The Grey Ghost) and I plan to be there. Better than nothing
Nice work there Brian. I know how you feel about no racing. My next event won't be till Gunnedah in March or the Day of the Drags at Sydney if I can find a date for it. You being in the radiator game might be able to answer a question for me. I've lowered the radiator as far as I can (for better aerodynamics) but that places my radiator cap lower than the highest point. I can fill through the plug in the thermostat housing to release trapped air but I'm not sure the cap will work as it should when getting hot. Mine is a Holden Barina radiator with a coolant recovery system. I thought of maybe getting a radiator cap neck Tig welded to the alloy thermostat housing. Whatcha think?
Hey there. Cheers for that. Not a great idea having the cap lower than the housing, it does cause issues. when you fill thru the plug, are you removing all the air in the system? Are you running a thermostat? I am all for having a filler welded to the housing, The cap needs to be the high point of the system. Your Barina radiator, is it Brass or plastic? The Radiator will need the filler removed. Or a higher-pressure cap fitted to it.
Thanks for the reply. It's a brass radiator and yes I'm running a thermostat as the Holden Greys are notorious for piston slap if they don't run at operating temperature. I was going to have it flushed an checked by a local radiator mob as soon as everyone gets back to work and I'll get them to delete the filler.
No problems, I know that there is a Radiator shop at Wagga Wagga. (Yes, all you American's it is a real name of a town). They are one of our customers. Hopefully catch up at The Day of the drags
I would highly recommend that you install an extension on the thermostat outlet, like on my Family Truckster, seen in front of the valve cover. Attach a second cap there.
Yes, the ('65 Mustang) radiator has a cap that is a couple of psi higher than the thermostat cap. The thermostat cap has an overflow bottle connected to it, seen nestled up against the firewall near the rear of the front fender.
Well, I did get to louver the sump, Made the baffle and spot welded it in a spare sump. Off to Willowbank this Saturday with Brendon for a Racers test day, then swap the sump over on Sunday. Will finally get the broken drill bit out of the motor. (Another story in itself)
Well Saturday was definitely interesting. Small dramas getting to the track but managed to be only an hour late. Best part was, that it was a racers test n tune day so limited numbers turned up. About 80 cars. Unloaded and set up next the Brendon and his crew. Very well set up. First run was a miserable 14. 4 at 91 mph. Couldn't believe it. Nathan borrowed a timing light and found that we hadn't tightened the Distributer and timing was at 12 degrees. adjusted it back to 30 degrees and it sounded much stronger. Lined up again with Brendon and let it rip. Well it loved the timing and really spun the wheels. Staged and when the light hit green, it just spun off the line, spun into second, hit third then. Blew the clutch, again. Despite the wheel spin and rolling across the line, it managed a 13.8 at high 90 something. Actually forgot the speed. Well my day was done. Loaded it back onto the trailer and headed home, leaving Brendon and his crew to enjoy the rest of the meet. Check Brendon's thread for his report on the day. (Another Ozzie Build) Got home by 8pm. had the motor out before 9pm, hunting a new clutch this week and hopefully motor back in next week end. Will fit the new sump at the same time. Will take the head off just to check for any damage.
I tell ya what despite the dramas it was bloody good to get back to the track and get some seat time!
That's a bit of a bummer Brian. You certainly know how to trash a clutch. Bit of horsepower in that engine.
Just noticed in one of the pictures with the motor out. There is a Grey Ghost stubby cooler doing its job.
MMMM Maybe just the driver. The clutch is only 8 1/2 inch. and you cannot fit a larger one. Have a replacement clutch already. Can only get stock ones, unless I get someone to make a custom, big dollars.. We are going to convert the old clutch to solid. When the springs left the plate, no damage occurred to it. So we are turning up Brass bar to replace the springs to make it solid. Will be harsher to launch, but lets see how it goes.
The Holden clutch I use is only 8 1/2" as well and in over 600 passes, stepping off the clutch each time at around 4000 rpm, I think I've only done 2 clutches. Once at Sydney when the centre broke loose on the repro Chinese PBR plate and once at Warwick in 2019 at the Six Bangers when one of the retaining fingers broke on the pressure plate. I think it's the horsepower difference.
The Jalopy Journal
